Caine grinned.
“I can get you on a military flight to RAAF Base Darwin, with a cover identity as a Marine lieutenant. From there, you would be on your own. You would have until your leave is up, or until Delbridge contacts us and he comes in. Tom, you can’t leave any evidence you were ever there.”
Caine moved in close, his fingers wrapping around hers, holding her tight. To hell with whatever anyone else might think about their relationship. “You trust me with this?”
“I know you Tom. You’re reckless. Sometimes… Sometimes I think you have a death wish. But…”
“But… ” He kissed her gently on the ear.
“But, you know what’s right and what’s wrong. And you always do something about it.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
BLUE MOUNTAINS, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA
Caine turned off the main highway, two hours west of Sydney. He followed the dirt track deeper into the bushlands of the Blue Mountains. The landscape was vast eucalyptus forests, dramatic cliffs, natural waterfalls and deep gorges. A misty rain gave the landscape a prehistoric ambience. Instead of dinosaurs, a mob of grey kangaroos hopped across the road in front of him.
One caught its leg on something and Caine noticed a CCTV camera spin around, hidden in the bush. He stopped, got out, and saw a tripwire stretched across the road. It only took a few minutes to reset the camera, and make it loop the last five minutes it had recorded. Then he drove again.
When his black Jeep reached the end of the bush-lined drive, he discovered a large ranch style house built on the edge of a high plateau. An outdoor swimming pool shimmered nearby. Despite the light rain, the views over the cliff edge were spectacular. The Australian bushland stretched before him, filling the horizon .
Caine drove the Jeep back out of sight. He parked it, then ran his hand across his recently cropped hair and shaved beard. He slipped on a pair of leather gloves, then drew his SIG Sauer P226 pistol. The slide clicked as he pulled it back, chambering the first 9mm round. He touched his arm to ensure his fighting knife was strapped in place. Then he walked down the remainder of the drive until he reached the front door.
He stood for a moment, listening. He could hear Joaquin Rodrigo’s guitar concerto, Concierto de Aranjuez, playing on a stereo system. The smell of sizzling steak filled the air.
Checking that there were no tripwires or cameras, Caine quietly picked the lock. Then, with his pistol ready, he opened the door and slipped inside. There was another tripwire, strung across the hall. He stepped over it carefully.
He found Martin Delbridge quickly enough. He was in the kitchen, carving his medium rare steak and placing it slice by slice on a white marble plate. He had prepared quite a feast for himself… Caine saw a balsamic vinegar salad, baked potatoes, and a glass full of red wine on the counter.
The kitchen area was connected to a spacious lounge. Leather sofas and a huge flat-screen television dominated the room. What looked to be expensive Aboriginal dot murals hung from the walls. Floor to ceiling windows afforded a view of the magnificent landscape Caine had seen earlier. This was a home that only the ultra-wealthy could afford.
Caine raised his pistol and pointed it at Delbridge’s head. He stepped out into the kitchen, his footsteps echoing off the tile floor.
“Fuck!” the CIA man swore as he dropped his steak on the ground, shocked at seeing Caine for the first time.
“You were expecting a call ahead?” Caine asked, his voice low and cold.
“Yes, I fucking was,” Delbridge moaned. He looked down at the steak, carving knife still in his hand. “You’ve ruined my lunch. Thirty Australian dollars you cost me. ”
“I’m sure you can afford it.” Caine made a motion with his pistol. “Drop the knife. Now!”
His opponent relinquished it, impaling the blade in the chopping board.
“Step into the middle of the room, where I can see you,” Caine growled. “Do it slow. No sudden movements.”
Delbridge’s lips curled in a sly grin. “It doesn't have to be like this, Mr. Thomas Caine. Don’t forget, I know all about you. You’re not as clean as you think. There is so much dirt I could reveal about you. You have no idea who’s been pulling your strings… the innocent blood on your hands.”
Caine ignored his rambling. “Empty your pockets. Again, do it slowly.”
Delbridge did what he was told, careful not to make any sudden movements. He never broke eye contact with Caine. “I made the call you know,” he said. “All has been forgiven. I’m coming in. Hell, is that why you’re here? Did you come to collect me?"
Caine said nothing.
“Oh, that’s not it, is it? You came to kill me.” His anger seemed to explode from nowhere. “Well, that’s fucking grand isn’t it? Seven days! Seven fucking days is all I got to enjoy this place. This was where I was going to retire, Caine. But I don’t get that, now, do I?”
Caine examined the room while Delbridge blustered. He was looking for anything his opponent might try to use as a weapon against him. He saw nothing within easy reach, except for a glass aquarium with grass, leaves and dead sticks inside. Delbridge probably had a pet lizard or frog in there. Or possibly a concealed weapon of some kind. Delbridge took a step towards the glass tank.
“You know, Caine, one day you might have to run. Then you’ll know what it feels like to be hunted like an animal. I just hope when you do, you learn to cover your tracks better than I did.”
Caine’s glare intensified. He felt his personality become cold. He was preparing himself to kill. His target was standing right in front of him, lined up in the sights of his gun. And yet he hesitated …
He remembered the people he had seen by the gas station… their emasculated bodies, the stench of death lingering over them.
Delbridge grinned. “Something got to you in Yemen, didn’t it, Caine? Made you question what kind of man you are?”
Caine’s mind immediately went to the kidnapped children, their terrified eyes as they fled from the Taliban camp.
“Do you know how many people you hurt, Delbridge?” he snarled. “How many died? Just so you could live out your days of luxury, surrounded by all of this?”
Delbridge sighed. Caine tensed as the man walked to the glass cabinet and tapped the glass. There must be some kind of animal in there he was tormenting.
“Don’t give me that sanctimonious bullshit, Caine. This is just a game. Sometimes you’re the king, like me, and sometimes you’re just a pawn, like you. The primary objective of a pawn is to be sacrificed so you can win the game in the end.”
Caine lined Delbridge up in his sights. He knew he should just shoot him… but again, he hesitated.
What are you waiting for? his mind screamed. But he still did not pull the trigger.
Delbridge looked back at him. His grin grew even more manic. “Oh, now I see… You want to understand, don’t you? You want to know why I did it? Fuck, Caine. You’ve got to get over yourself.” He peered into the aquarium. “You think the pets I have here question why they kill their prey? Of course they don’t. There is no reason, not one that you can understand. I just wanted money. It’s that simple.”
The hairs on the back of Caine’s neck began to rise. The pulse in his head beat faster and louder.
“Want to know what I keep in here?” he asked, tapping the glass on the aquarium again. “Hadronyche versuta . Funnel fucking web spiders, that’s what. I thought this ranch would be the perfect home, but these disgusting hairy black spiders seem to like it here too. I’ve caught eight in the last few days. ”
Caine remembered how Delbridge had caressed the scorpion in Sana’a. The man had an unnatural obsession with deadly insects.
“Nasty buggers, Caine. You get bitten by one of these, you’ll be dead in fifteen minutes.” He moved his hand and pointed to a large spider tapping its forelegs on the glass.
Caine could see it now, fat and black and hairy, with fangs the size of fork prongs.
“Imagi
ne getting bitten by eight.”
Caine immediately knew something wasn’t right but he reacted too slowly. Delbridge ducked and ran. Caine fired, but his shot missed, and ricocheted off the wall. His aim was thrown off as the aquarium suddenly exploded.
The tank shattered into a thousand pieces, filling the room with flying shards of glass. Caine covered his eyes instinctively, as he felt tiny fragments cut across his skin.
It was a distraction, but that was all Delbridge needed to flee outside.
Caine opened his eyes and stepped forward. He froze in his tracks, as he encountered angry spiders on the floor everywhere. There were a lot more than eight. Black and hairy, each one was about the size of a small child’s fist. The horde of arachnids scurried towards him. They reared up and slashed the air, droplets of venom glistening on their dagger-like fangs.
Caine was shocked at their speed and aggressiveness. A mass of the large creatures ran towards his feet.
He tried to stomp them with his boot. He got one, but the others were too quick.
Spotting a tall vase next to the kitchen table, he knocked it to the floor, shattering it around them. One spider was crushed in the impact. The others scattered away from the broken glass.
Caine sprinted outside, gun still in hand, and searched for Delbridge. There was a lot of open space before the tree lines of the bush country. Too far for Delbridge to have run in such a short space of time .
As he passed by the pool a metal projectile rushed past his head. He touched his cheek, realizing it bled from a deep cut. A spear from a spear gun wobbled in the wooden veranda behind him.
He looked into the pool.
Delbridge was lying on the bottom, at least ten feet down. The man was breathing through a scuba tank. Caine had been warned; Delbridge planned everything. Including how he would take on intruders if they entered his property.
His spear gun already reloaded, he fired again.
Caine ducked back just in time. The razor sharp projectile whizzed past his chest, and clanged off a statue near the edge of the pool.
Caine knew that bullets wouldn’t travel far enough in water to be lethal at that depth. He sucked in a deep lungful of breath. Then he dove into the pool, swimming down with powerful strokes of his arms and legs. He swam closer to Delbridge, as the man frantically reloaded his weapon.
When Caine was within reach, he pulled the knife from the sheath in his arm.
Delbridge was reloading, preparing another spear.
Caine was upon him. He ripped the mask from Delbridge’s face. The man dropped the speargun as the water flooded his eyes and nose. Before he could recover, Caine impaled the knife into the man’s gut. Delbridge opened his mouth to scream. Instead his throat exploded with bubbles.
Caine slashed the blade across the man’s throat. Delbridge struggled to surface, but Caine held him down until the man became lifeless. His still body was soon obscured by a growing cloud of his own blood.
Caine swam away, pulled himself out of the pool and sat for a moment, panting hard for breath. Concierto de Aranjuez still played on a stereo system back in the house. The funnel web spiders were probably hiding in Delbridge’s dirty laundry and linen cupboards by now. He’d have to burn down the property before he left. His blood was all over the floor, linking him to a crime scene.
He heard a phone ringing.
Dripping wet, he walked to a sun chair, were a smart phone chirped and vibrated. The international number on display was from Caine’s home country, the United States.
“Too late,” Caine said to no one when the unanswered phone call ended. “The bastard is dead now.”
He tossed the phone into the pool, and watched it sink, disappearing into the crimson water.
Thank You!
Thank you for reading Sandfire . If you enjoyed this book, would you please consider leaving an honest review for it at Amazon? Reviews are critical for helping independent authors bring their books to the attention of readers who might enjoy them. I would truly appreciate it, and it can be as short as you like.
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What to Read Next
Thank you for reading Sandfire. If you enjoyed this novella, here are some other books featuring betrayed assassin Thomas Caine…
CAINE: RAPID FIRE NOVELLAS
DEVIL’S DUE
A Thomas Caine Novella
COLD KILL
A Thomas Caine Novella
SANDFIRE
A Thomas Caine Novella
THOMAS CAINE NOVELS
TOKYO BLACK
A Thomas Caine Thriller
RED PHOENIX
A Thomas Caine Thriller
FIRE AND FORGET
A Thomas Caine Thriller
Also by Aiden L. Bailey
BLOOD IVORY
A Simon Ashcroft Novella
THE ASSYRIAN CONTRABAND
A Simon Ashcroft Novella
THE BENEVOLENT DECEPTION
A Simon Ashcroft Thriller
THOMAS CAINE
will
RETURN!
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Andrew Warren
Andrew Warren was born in New Jersey, and studied film, English, and psychology at the University of Miami. He has over a decade of experience in the television and motion picture industry, where he has worked as a post production supervisor, story producer, and writer. He currently lives in Southern California.
Andrew loves to hear from his readers! Please feel free to contact him here:
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Aiden L. Bailey
Formerly an engineer, Aiden L Bailey built a career marketing multi-national technology, heavy industry and construction companies. His various roles have included corporate communications with the Australian Submarine Corporation, technical writing for several defense contractors, engineering on a petroleum pipeline constructed in the Australian desert, and a magazine editor and art director. He travelled widely in his twenties, predominately through Australia, Africa, Europe and South America, and returned home with many stories to tell. Aiden lives with his wife and daughter in South Australia.
To learn more, visit Aiden’s website at aidenlbailey.com
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